


nothing less than perfect

by kwonjis



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 06:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17136623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwonjis/pseuds/kwonjis
Summary: sicheng struggles to get yuta a christmas present





	nothing less than perfect

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas everyone!! it's been a tough couple of days for the fandom but i thought i'd put out something cute and festive ❤ i hope you all enjoy!

One thing Sicheng admired about the other members was their ability to give the most thoughtful gifts to one another. Sicheng had always been on the receiving end of their generosity and always struggled to reciprocate in turn. He preferred to show his affections through actions, rather than words or physical gifts.

 

But sometimes, when the occasion called for it, Sicheng struggled to find the right presents for each member. He could never forget how sorry he had felt towards Yuta during the NCT Life Osaka shoot when he had only given him a pair of socks. Compared to the other members’ presents, Sicheng felt as if he might as well have given him coal.

 

This year, Sicheng was determined to give all the members presents he was sure they’d love. In fact, Sicheng had started planning out gifts for each member early in the year. He’d scribble out little things about the members in a small notebook he tucked away under his mattress. He had written down their hobbies, things they took interest in recently and other tidbits of information that could give him ideas of what to give each member for Christmas.

 

The one person Sicheng struggled to buy a present for, no matter how hard he racked his brain, was Yuta. Yuta, the one who showered Sicheng with love and affection from the moment they first met. Yuta, the one who had kindly accepted Sicheng’s sock present in Osaka without batting an eye or complaining. Yuta, his boyfriend, who currently had one arm around Sicheng and had his head resting on the Chinese boy’s shoulder as he watched the anime playing from Sicheng’s laptop as they sat together on Yuta’s bed.

 

“Hyung, what do you want for Christmas?” Sicheng asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to have to resort to asking him out right but desperate times called for desperate measures. And Sicheng was desperate to find the perfect gift for the love of his life. Yuta hit pause on the computer with his free hand and turned his head slightly to look at Sicheng.

 

“Me? I told you, you don’t have to get me anything,” Yuta said softly, giving Sicheng a kiss on the cheek before settling his head on his shoulder again. Sicheng squirmed out from under Yuta’s arm and closed the laptop. Yuta frowned at him in confusion and sat up straighter. “What’s wrong?”

 

Sicheng sighed. “I _want_ to get you something for Christmas, hyung. I’ve been trying to figure out what to get you for ages but none of my ideas seem right.” Yuta let out a light laugh at Sicheng’s pout and scooted closer to take one of Sicheng’s hands in his.

 

“You can just get me new earrings or something,” Yuta said, stroking the back of Sicheng’s hand with his thumb. “Or like a new bracelet.”

 

“But I’ve given you all that stuff before,” Sicheng huffed in frustration. “I want to give you something I haven’t given you yet.”

 

“Baby, you don’t need to do that,” Yuta said gently. “I don’t really want anything else. I’ve got you,” Sicheng blushed as Yuta leaned in and kissed his lips swiftly. “And that’s all I need.”

 

“That’s so cheesy,” Sicheng complained half-heartedly. Yuta laughed and captured Sicheng’s lips again.

 

“You love it, don’t lie.” Yuta said, grinning against his lips. Sicheng couldn’t bring himself to protest when Yuta pulled back to shove the laptop aside before gently kissing him into the mattress.

 

But as Christmas crept closer and closer, Sicheng couldn’t help but feel anxious. He’d manage to buy presents for all the members except for Yuta and it was killing him. In his desperation, he turned to the other members for help.

 

“Suck his dick and give him mind blowing sex.” Ten had suggested when Sicheng found him sitting in the 127 dorm one evening. “It worked for Johnny last year, right babe?” Johnny had turned an alarming shade of red and choked on his food while Sicheng blushed and Ten laughed.

 

“Don’t listen to Ten, he actually got me a new pouch for my camera,” Johnny said to Sicheng once he had gotten over his initial shock and embarrassment. “Yuta would love anything you give him, you know. He knows you’d have put your heart and soul into buying whatever it is you decide to give him.”

 

The thing was, Johnny was right. Yuta had always looked at everything Sicheng did with pure amazement, as if Sicheng had turned sand into gold. Yuta was Sicheng’s number one supporter, always ready to cheer him on and tell him he was doing great even if Sicheng felt like he was doing otherwise. The Japanese boy looked at Sicheng like he hung the stars in the sky and never made any effort to hide his feelings.

 

But Sicheng wanted to give Yuta something special, he wanted to do something unexpected and new for the other boy. Yuta had always managed to find ways to surprise Sicheng. This time, Sicheng wanted to catch _him_ off-guard for once.

 

“What should I do, ge?” Sicheng sighed, as he watched Kun skilfully mince an onion before tossing it into the frying pan to sauteé.

The older Chinese boy hummed in thought as he tossed the ingredients in the pan. Sicheng looked on in amazement, wondering how he could do that without dropping a single ingredient. “You’ve always been an actions kind of guy right?” Kun asked, glancing his way and giving him a small smile. Sicheng nodded. “Well, I think that rather than trying to _buy_ something for him, why don’t you _do_ something for him? Actions always speak louder than words.”

 

“So you think I should do what Ten hyung suggested?” Sicheng said slowly, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched the way Kun nearly dropped the pan in alarm in response to his words. “Just kidding gege, I know what you meant. But what should I do to surprise him? I really want to do something new.”

 

The two fell silent as they pondered for a moment. “Maybe you could do a little Christmas surprise for him?” Kun offered. “Since you’re both only going back to your hometowns for the New Year, you could plan a really cute Christmas event for the two of you? I know Ten said he and Johnny were gonna go visit Taeyong’s family for Christmas, it’ll be easy to get the dorms to yourselves for once.”

 

Maybe Kun was onto something, Sicheng thought as he thanked the older boy and rushed back to the 127 dorm to do some brainstorming.

 

For the next few days, Sicheng spent every spare moment he could trying to plan the perfect Christmas date for Yuta. Inspired by Kun, Sicheng settled on cooking Christmas dinner for the two of them. “Something Japanese? Or something Chinese?” Sicheng muttered to himself as he scrolled through the internet for easy to cook recipes.

 

Takoyaki would have been nice, a way to bring a piece of home to Yuta. But Sicheng didn’t think he could manage turning those takoyakis without burning them and he didn’t have time to buy a takoyaki pan either. Okonomiyaki had looked like a very suitable option, one that Renjun had suggested when Sicheng texted the China line group chat one evening, until Lucas pointed out that it would be better to make the okonomiyaki on the spot instead of leaving it to wait on the table until Yuta arrived.

 

After mulling it over for several days, Sicheng finally decided on making a simple steak dinner with baked potatoes and a matcha cake that he and Kun would make in advance and keep in the Dreamies’ fridge until then. Sicheng spent almost every dinner time at the Dream dorm, practicing how to perfectly grill the steaks and bake the potatoes. Kun and the Dreamies were perfectly happy to help eat all of Sicheng’s failed attempts. “As long as they’re not burned, I’ll eat it,” Chenle said as he happily gorged himself.

 

It took several tries and almost a week of trials until Sicheng became satisfied with his cooking. He wanted this to be perfect because in his eyes Yuta deserved nothing less than perfect.

 

Even if perfection had cost Sicheng almost several hundred dollars worth of prime rib eye cuts from the supermarket.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Merry Christmas, sleepyhead” Yuta murmured into Sicheng’s ear before kissing his cheek. Sicheng groaned a little, and rolled over to face his boyfriend who was kneeling on the ground beside the bed.

 

“It’s too early,” Sicheng mumbled sleepily. Yuta let out a laugh before kissing the tip of Sicheng’s nose lightly.

 

“I just wanted to be the first to greet you,” Yuta said, looking at Sicheng fondly. He reached a hand out to smooth out the tufts of Sicheng’s hair that were sticking out at odd angles. “I’m gonna be out with Johnny and Ten all day but I’ll be back for dinner, alright?”

 

“Mmmkay,” Sicheng nodded. He had managed to rope Johnny and Ten into his plan to surprise Yuta and they agreed to keep his boyfriend busy until they had to go to Taeyong’s later that afternoon. While they were with Yuta, Sicheng would have ample time to get everything ready for the surprise.

 

“I’ll see you in a few hours, okay?” Yuta leaned in and kissed Sicheng softly. Sicheng couldn’t help but pout when Yuta pulled away. “Love you, text me if you need anything.”

 

“Love you too,” Sicheng smiled and Yuta gave him a wink before heading out the door.

 

Sicheng lay in bed for a while, closing his eyes and listening to the sound of everyone moving around outside. He waited until he was sure everyone had left before rolling out of bed and texting Kun to come over.

 

Kun, bless him, had offered to help make a cake for the two of them and showed up some time later armed with all the ingredients needed and his usual gentle smile. Sicheng watched and listened intently as Kun rattled off instructions as he moved around in the kitchen.

 

“Does it look okay?” Sicheng asked worriedly. He bit his lower lip as he inspected the finished matcha cake sitting prettily on a clear, glass plate. Kun, who had finished dusting the cake with matcha powder, took a step away from the counter and nudged Sicheng lightly.

 

“It looks perfect. He’s going to love it, don’t worry.” Kun reassured as he lightly squeezed Sicheng’s shoulder before heading to the sink to rinse his hands. “You’re all good with the steaks and everything else right? I gotta go shower before Yukhei and I head off to the airport.”

 

“I think I can manage,” Sicheng said, closing the fridge door after putting the matcha cake inside. Kun looked at him proudly and embraced him warmly.

 

“You’ve changed a lot, you know that?” Kun said after pulling back. “You smile a lot more and you seem more sure of yourself. I don’t know if it’s because of Yuta but I don’t doubt that he’s brought out the best in you. I’m sure you’ve done the same for him too.”

 

Sicheng felt his chest tighten at Kun’s words. He felt an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude for the older one and couldn’t help but hug him again. “Thanks ge,” Sicheng said softly. “Before you go, I want to give you your present.” He added. Kun let out a laugh.

 

“I told you, you didn’t need to get me anything,” He said in a mock scolding tone. Sicheng rolled his eyes as he walked over to the black shopping bag that was sitting on the dining table. He pulled out a neatly wrapped box and handed it over to Kun.

 

“You can open it now if you want, I have a feeling you might find it useful in the airplane later,” Sicheng said with a smile. He felt a rush of satisfaction sweep through him as he watched Kun unwrap the present. The older member’s eyes lit up with excitement as he read the label on the box.

 

“Are these new headphones?” Kun said in an almost reverent tone. Sicheng nodded.

 

“Thought they’d be better to use when you’re composing. Better than your old Airpods anyways,” Sicheng replied. Kun tucked the box under one arm before giving Sicheng a half-hug with his other arm.

 

“Thank you,” Kun said sincerely. He checked the watch on his wrist before cursing softly under his breath. He gave Sicheng an apologetic look. “I really gotta get going now or I’ll miss my flight. Good luck with tonight though, I know everything will go great.” He gave Sicheng a one-armed hug before leaving Sicheng alone in the empty dorm.

 

He eyed the steaks and vegetables waiting to be prepared and sighed.

 

_Let’s fucking do this._

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Winko? Why are all the lights off?”

 

Yuta's voice echoed through the apartment and Sicheng hurriedly finished plating the steaks before carefully carrying it over to the dining table. “In the kitchen,” Sicheng called out, trying not to let his voice waver in nervousness.

 

When Yuta caught sight of Sicheng standing by the dining table, his mouth parted slightly in surprise. “What’s all this?”

 

The table was decorated with a poinsettia arrangement that Sicheng had delivered earlier in the day. Little fairy lights were strung around the dining area and carefully pinned to the strings of light were photos of Yuta and Sicheng.

 

“I didn’t know what to buy you for Christmas,” Sicheng couldn’t help but smile at the radiant expression on Yuta’s face as the latter gazed at each photo adoringly. “So I thought I’d surprise you instead. I know it’s not your mom’s cooking bu-”

 

“It’s perfect.”

 

Sincerity rang out in Yuta’s words and Sicheng felt his heart melt as Yuta gave him the most breathtaking smile. “Go ahead and sit first, I’ll get our food,” Sicheng instructed. He turned away, heart thudding in his chest and cheeks feeling warm as he headed back into the kitchen. He moved the steaks from where they were resting on the cutting board and transferred it over to their plates.

 

As Sicheng plated the baked potatoes and the vegetables he decided to throw together on a whim, he heard Yuta call out, “I’ll put on some music.” A familiar Christmas song filled the dorm, one that Sicheng recognised from Johnny’s playlist, and he smiled to himself as he heard Yuta singing along happily.

 

“Dinner is served!” Sicheng announced, walking back into the living room with two full plates balanced in each hand. Yuta beamed as Sicheng placed one plate down in front of him.

 

“This looks amazing,” Yuta said in amazement, looking at the food from every angle. He gazed up at Sicheng with a warm smile. “Sicheng, thank you.”

 

Sicheng reached across the table and squeezed Yuta’s hand lightly. “Merry Christmas, hyung.”

 

One of the things Sicheng loved the most about Yuta was how expressive he was. He wasn’t afraid to talk about or show how he was feeling. It was the opposite of Sicheng, who preferred to keep his worries and feelings to himself. Right now, satisfaction and wonder was written all over Yuta’s face as he dug into the meal Sicheng had meticulously prepared. Yuta made noises of delight with every other bite he took and Sicheng felt immensely satisfied that his surprise had been successful.

 

“Sicheng,” Yuta cleared his throat. Sicheng’s hand paused from where he was about to slice into the matcha cake. The table had been cleared and Sicheng had proudly taken out the cake he and Kun had made. Sicheng set down the knife and nodded for Yuta to continue.

 

The breath Sicheng was going to take in hitched in his throat as he watched Yuta placed a little black box on the table. “Are you… Is that…” Sicheng felt his heart race as Yuta opened the box and turned it around to face him.

 

Nestled in the middle of black velvet was a small golden ring. The golden band was inlaid with a knot fashioned out of rose-gold. It was simple but lovely. Sicheng blinked and felt tears threatening to spill. He rubbed at his eyes furiously before looking at Yuta.

 

“It’s a promise ring,” Yuta said softly. He reached across the table and took Sicheng’s hands in his own. “I can’t promise that you’ll never get hurt and that you’ll never feel anything bad. Our careers make it impossible for us to ever have peace in our lives. But I promise you that I’ll be with you every step of the way. Through our best and worst times to come, through every curveball the industry and our company throws our way, I’ll be there to take it on with you. This is the only thing I can promise you. And I hope that this… that _I’m_ enough.”

 

Sicheng swallowed hard and nodded. His words were stuck in his throat as he absorbed Yuta’s words. He didn’t realise that he was crying until Yuta leaned over and wiped his tears away with his thumb. “Are these happy tears or…?” Yuta joked, leaning back in his seat.

 

“Of course they’re happy tears,” Sicheng huffed, pulling the ring box close to him. He stared down at the ring and took it out carefully. “Aren’t you going to put this on me?” He asked Yuta cheekily.

 

“I’ve still got more rings for you in the future,” Yuta winked and Sicheng felt his chest tighten at the implication of Yuta’s words. But Yuta got up anyway and went to Sicheng’s side. Sicheng let Yuta take the ring from him and watched as Yuta carefully slid the ring onto Sicheng’s left ring finger. He blushed when Yuta kissed the back of his hand before stepping back a bit.

 

“Merry Christmas, love. And to many more Christmases together,” Yuta said softly. Sicheng reached up to pull Yuta back down into a brief but sweet kiss. He pulled away and pecked Yuta’s cheek swiftly.

 

“Merry Christmas, hyung.”

**Author's Note:**

> so [this](https://www.tdncreations.com/5610-large_default/gold-knot-promise-ring-celtic-knot-engagement-ring-gift-for-her.jpg) is how the ring looks like!
> 
>  
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/taemintys)


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